John Calvin on Obadiah 1:21

Here the Prophet says, that there are in God’s hand ministers, the labor of whom he employs to preserve his own people. He alludes here, I have no doubt, to the history of the judges. We indeed know that the people of Israel were often so distressed, that their deliverance was almost incredible; and that yet they were also delivered in such a way as to have made it evident that the hand of God had appeared from heaven. Since this then was well known to the Jews, the Prophet here reminds them that God had still in his hand redeemers, whenever it might please him to gather his people. God then shall send preservers, even as he did send them formerly to your fathers. They had indeed found true by experience what the Prophet says here, not only once, but more than ten times. This then ought to have served much to confirm this prophecy.

Ascend then shall they who will judge the mount of Esau, — who, being endued with the power of God and his authority, will execute judgment on mount Seir and on the whole nation, and will avenge the cruelty which Edom had exercised towards the children of Abraham.

But this passage shows, that Christ came not to be the minister of our deliverance and salvation in an ordinary way, but that he became our savior in a special manner; so that he stands alone in that capacity: and this is a very strong argument against the Jews. They confess that the Messiah would be the Redeemer of his people, but they ascribe this office to him in a general way, as they do to David and other kings. But it certainly appears from this passage, that the Messiah would not be of the common class, for saviors would be under him as his ministers. This the Jews dare not to deny, though they grumble: for it would be absurd that he should be one of their number. Since then he was sent to be a Redeemer and Savior in a way different from others, it follows that he is not man only, but that he is the Author of salvation. It would indeed be easy to reply, “Why do you speak to us of many redeemers? Do you not hope for one Savior? If God will commit this office to many in an equal degree, why are there so many glorious promises respecting the Messiah? Why are we ever reminded of him alone? Why is he alone set forth to us as the ground of our salvation?” It hence certainly appears that Christ is to be distinguished from all others, and that others are saviors under his authority; and such were the apostles, and such are all at this day, the labor and ministry of whom God employs to defend and support his Church.

Now he adds, Jehovah’s shall be the kingdom. But as it is certain, that it was God’s purpose to rule among his people after having restored them, in no other way than by the power of Christ, the Prophet, by saying that the kingdom of Christ would be Jehovah’s, means, that it would be really divine, and more illustrious than if he had employed the labor of men. But two things must be here observed by us, — that God himself really rules in the person of Christ, — and that it is the legitimate mode of ruling the Church, that God alone should preside, and hold alone the chief power. Hence it follows, that when God does not appear as the only King, all things are in confusion, without any order. Now God is not called a King by way of an empty distinction: but then only is he regarded a King in reality, when all submit themselves to him, when they are ruled by his word; in short, when all creatures become silent in his presence. To God then belongs the kingdom. We hence see that the Church has no existence, where the word of God does not so prevail in its authority, as to keep down whatever height there is in men, and to bring them under the yoke, so that all may depend on God alone, that all may look up to him, and that he may have all in subjection to himself.

Prayer.

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so scattered in our pilgrimage in this world, that even a dreadful spectacle is presented to our eyes, when we see thy Church so miserably rent asunder, O grant, that being endued with the real power of thy Spirit, and gathered into one, we may so cultivate brotherly kindness among ourselves, that each may strive to help another, and at the same time keep our eyes fixed on Christ Jesus; and though hard contests may await us, may we yet be under his care and protection, and so exercise patience, that having finished our warfare, we may at last enjoy that blessed rest, which thou hast promised to us, and which is laid up for us in heaven, and which has also been purchased for us by the blood of Christ thy Son, one Lord. Amen.

End of the Commentaries on Obadiah.

A Translation of

Calvin’s Version of

The Prophecies of Joel.

Chapter 1

1 The word of Jehovah which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

2 Hear this, ye the aged; And give ear, al ye inhabitants of the land; Hath this been in your days, Or in the days of your fathers?

3 This to your children declare, And your children to their children, And their children to the next generation, —

4 “The residue of the locust hath the chafer eaten, “The residue of the chafer hath the cankerworm eaten, “The residue of the cankerworm hath the caterpillar eaten.”

5 Awake ye drunkards, and weep; Howl ye all who drink wine for the new wine; For cut off it is from your mouth.

6 Verily a nation came up over my land, Strong and without number: Its teeth the teeth the teeth of a lion, And its jaw-bones those of a young lion:

7 It exposed my vine to desolation, And my fig-tree to the stripping of the bark; By denuding it denuded it and cast it away, White have been made its branches.—

8 Lament as a young woman, girded with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.

9 Cut off is offering and libation From the house of Jehovah; Mourn do the priests, the ministers of Jehovah;

10 Wasted is the field, mourn does the land; For laid waste is the corn, Dried up is the wine, destroyed is the oil.

11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, howl, ye vinedressers, On account of the wheat and the barley; For perished has the harvest of the field,

12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree is destroyed; The pomegranate, the palm also and the apple tree,— All the trees of the field have dried up: Verily dried up is joy among the children of men!

13 Be girded and lament, ye priests; Howl ye ministers of the altar; Come, spend the night in sackcloth, Ye ministers of my God; For withheld from the house of your God Is offering and a libation:

14 Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, Gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of Jehovah your God, And cry ye to Jehovah.—

15 Alas the day! For nigh is the day of Jehovah, And as a desolation from the Almighty it will come.

16 Has not the meat before your eyes been cut off, Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17 Rotted have the grains under the clods, Desolate are the granaries, Pulled down have been the barns, For dried up has the corn.

18 How has the beast groaned! Confounded are the herds of oxen! For wanting to them are pastures; The flocks of sheep are also desolate.

19 To thee Jehovah will I cry; For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert, And the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field:

20 The beasts of the field will also cry to thee; For dried up have the streams of waters, For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert.

Chapter 2

1 Sound ye the trumpet in Zion, And cry aloud on my holy mountain: Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For coming is the day of Jehovah, for nigh it is,—

2 A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloudiness and of obscurity, Like the dawn expanding over the mountains,— A people, great and strong, The like of them has not been from the beginning, Nor after them shall be for many generations;

3 Before them, a devouring fire, And after them, a flame, shall burn; Like the garden of Eden the land before them, And after them, a desert of solitude; And so there will be no escape from them:

4 As the appearance of horses, their appearance, And as horsemen they will run;

5 As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, As the sound of the flame of fire devouring the stubble, As a strong people prepared for battle;

6 Their face will the people dread, All faces will gather blackness;

7 As giants will they run here and there, As men of war will they ascend the wall, And each in his ways will proceed, And they shall not stay their goings;

8 No one will thrust his brother, Every one in his way will march on; On the sword shall they fall, and shall not be wounded;

9 Though the city shall they go, over the wall shall they run, Into houses shall they climb, Into the windows shall they enter like a thief:

10 Before them shall tremble the earth, And in anguish shall be the heavens, The sun and moon shall be darkened, And the stars shall withdraw their brightness;

11 And Jehovah will utter his voice before his army, For very great will be his camp. For strong is he who doeth his word; For great will be the day of Jehovah, And very terrible, and who will endure it?

12 But even now, saith Jehovah, Turn to me with your whole heart, And with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn to Jehovah your God; For he is propitious and merciful, Slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness, And will repent of the evil:

14 Who knows, whether he will return and repent, And leave behind him a blessing— An offering and a libation to Jehovah your God?

15 Sound ye the trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast, proclaim a meeting,

16 Gather the people, sanctify the assembly, Bring together the aged, gather the children And those suckling the breasts; And let the bridegroom come forth from his recess, And the bride from her chamber;

17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, The ministers of Jehovah, weep and say,— “Be propitious, Jehovah, to thy people, “And give not thy heritage to reproach, “That the nations should rule over them; “Why should they say among the people, “‘Where is their God?’”

18 Then jealous will Jehovah be for his land, And he will be propitious to his people;

19 And Jehovah will answer, and say to his people: This line is rendered to the version of Calvin, and not according to his comment. See p. 75. “Behold, I will send to you corn, and wine, and oil, “And ye shall be satisfied with them; “And I will make you no more a reproach among the nations;

20 “And the Northlander will I remove far from you, “And drive him to a desert and dry land, “With his face to the eastern sea, “And his rear to the hindmost sea; “And ascend shall his ill savor, “And ascend shall his rottenness; “For high hath he exalted himself to do his purpose.”

21 Fear not, thou land; exult and rejoice; For Jehovah hath high exalted himself to do his purpose:

22 Fear not, ye beasts of the fields; For grow shall the pastures of the desert, For the tree shall bring forth its fruit, The fig-tree and the vine shall yield their substance:

23 And ye children of Zion, exult, And rejoice in Jehovah your God; For he will give you rain in due measure, And make to come down for you the showering rain, And the rain in the first month;

24 And filled shall the floors be with corn, And overflow shall the vats with wine and oil;

25 And I will restore years to you For those which the locust hath eaten, The chafer, and the caterpillar,— My great army, which I sent to you:

26 And eating, ye shall eat and satisfy yourselves, And shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, Because he hath dealt wondrously with you; And ashamed shall not my people be for ever.

27 And ye shall know that in the midst of Israel I am, And that I Jehovah am your God, and none else; And ashamed shall not my people be forever.

28 And shall it be afterwards, That I will pour my Spirit on all flesh, And prophesy shall your sons and your daughters, And your old men shall dreams dream, And your young men shall visions see;

29 And also on servants and maid-servants Will I in those days pour my spirit:

30 And I will set prodigies in heaven and on earth,— Blood and fire, and columns of mist;

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, The moon into blood, Before it comes—the day of Jehovah, great and terrible:

32 Then it shall be, that whosoever shall call On the name of Jehovah, shall be delivered; For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem Shall be deliverance, as Jehovah hath promised, And for the residue whom Jehovah shall call.

Chapter 3

1 For, behold in those days, and at that time, When I shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will then gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehosaphat; And I will there contend with them, For my people and for my heritage Israel; Because they have scattered them among the nations,

2 And divided my land, and on my people cast lots, And have given a boy for a harlot, And have sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

3 And yet, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Palestine? Will ye recompense return to me?

4 Now if ye repay me with this, Quickly—suddenly will I return Your recompense on your own head.

5 Because ye have taken away my silver and my gold, And my desirable things have removed to your temples,

6 And have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem To the children of the Grecians, That ye might drive them far from their own borders;—

7 Behold, I will raise them from the place to which ye have sold them, And will return your recompense on your head;

8 For I will sell your sons and your daughters to the children of Judah, And they shall sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation; For thus hath Jehovah spoken.

9 Publish this among the nations, Proclaim a war, rouse the strong, Let them come, let them ascend, all the men of war:

10 Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am strong.”

11 Assemble and come all ye nations, Assemble all around; There will Jehovah lay prostrate all thy valiant ones.

12 Awake let the nations, and ascend to the valley of Jehosaphat; For there will I sit to judge all the nations around.

13 Put forth the sickle, for ripened has the harvest; Come, go down, for full is the wine-press, Overflowing are the vats, For multiplied has their wickedness.

14 Nations! Nations! In the valley of the sledge; For nigh is Jehovah’s day in the valley of the sledge: The sun and the moon shall be darkened, And the stars shall withdraw their brightness;

15 And Jehovah from Zion shall roar, And from Jerusalem shall utter his voice, And tremble shall the heavens and the earth;

16 But Jehovah will be a hope to his people, And a strength to the children of Israel:

17 Then ye shall know that I Jehovah am your God, Dwelling in Zion, the mount of my holiness; And Jerusalem shall be holiness, And aliens shall pass through it no more.

18 And it shall be in that day, That distill new wine shall the mountains, And the hills shall cause milk to run down, And all the rivers of Judah shall send forth waters; A fountain also from the house of Jehovah shall go forth, And it shall water the valley of Shittim.

19 Egypt shall be a solitude, And Edom shall be a desert of solitude, For the outrage done to the children of Judah, Because they shed innocent blood in their own land:

20 But Judah shall forever safely dwell, And Jerusalem shall be from age to age; And I will cleanse their blood which I have not cleansed, And Jehovah shall dwell in Zion.

a translation

of Calvin’s Version

of The Prophecies of Amos.

Chapter 1

1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds at Tekos, which he saw concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake; and he said,—

2 Jehovah from Zion will roar, And from Jerusalem will he utter his voice; And perish shall the habitations of shepherds, And wither shall the top of Carmel.

3 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; (157) Because they have threshed Gilead with iron wains:

4 And I will send fire into the house of Hazael, And it shall devour the palaces of Benhadad;

5 And I will break in pieces the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, And the holder of the scepter from the house of Eden; And removed shall be the people of Syria to Kir, saith Jehovah.

6 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For they carried away a complete captivity, To shut them up in Edom:

7 And I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, And it shall devour its palaces;

8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Azotus, And the holder of the scepter from Ascalon; And I will turn my hand against Ekron, And perish shall the remnants of the Philistines, Saith the Lord Jehovah.

9 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For they have shut up a complete captivity in Edom, And have not remembered the covenant of brethren:

10 And I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, And it shall devour its palaces.

11 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For he pursued with the sword his own brother, And destroyed his own compassions; And raged continually has his anger, And his wrath has he kept perpetually:

12 And I will send a fire on Teman, And it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of the children o Ammon, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have rent the pregnant women of Gilead, That they might extend their own borders:

14 And I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, With clamor in the day of battle, With whirlwind in the day of tempest;

15 And pass shall its king into captivity, He and his princes together, saith Jehovah.

Chapter 2

1 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into ashes:

2 And I will send a fire on Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth; And die in a tumult shall Moab, With shouting, at the sound of the trumpet;

3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst of him, And with him all his princes will I slay, saith Jehovah.

4 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have despised the law of Jehovah, And his statutes have they not kept; And to go astray have their lies made them, After which their fathers walked:

5 And I will send a fire on Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

6 Thus saith Jehovah,— For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have sold the just for silver, and the poor for shoes;

7 Panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the needy, They turn aside the way of the miserable; The son and his father enter in into the same maid, So that they profane my holy name;

8 And on pledged garments they lie near every altar, And the wine of the condemned they drink In the house of their god.

9 Yet I exterminated the Amorite before their face, Whose tallness was like the tallness of cedars, And who was strong like the oak; And I destroyed his fruit above and his root beneath;

10 And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you in the desert forty years, That you might possess the land of the Amorite;

11 And I raised up Prophets from your sons, And from your youths, Nazarites;— Have I not done all this, O children of Israel, saith Jehovah:

12 But to the Nazarites have ye quaffed wine; And on my Prophets have ye laid a command, Saying, “Ye shall not prophesy.”

13 Behold, I am fast bound under you, (196) As a wagon is bound, which is full of sheaves.—

14 Perish shall flight from the swift, And the valiant shall not confirm his strength, And the strong shall not deliver his life,

15 And the holder of the bow shall not stand, And the swift on foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who mounts a horse save his life;

16 Yea, the strong of heart, among the valiant, Shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.

Chapter 3

1 Hear ye this word which Jehovah pronounces Against you, children of Israel—against the whole family, Which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,—

2 “Only you have I known of all the families of the earth, “I will therefore visit on you all your iniquities.”

3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion roar in his den, when nothing is taken?

5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the ground without a fowler? Will a fowler take up his snare from the ground before he catches?

6 Shall a trumpet sound in a city, and the people tremble not? Shall there be an evil in a city, which Jehovah hath not done?

7 For nothing will the Lord Jehovah do, Except he has revealed his secret to his servants the Prophets.

8 The lion hath roared, who would not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken, who would not prophesy?

9 Publish in the palaces of Ashdod, And in the palaces of the land of Egypt, and say,— “Assemble ye on the mountains of Samaria, “And see the great tumults within it, “And the oppressions in the midst of it.”

10 And they know not how to do right, saith Jehovah,— Treasuring up the fruit of robbery and plunder in their palaces.

11 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah,— Lo, an adversary! And one around the land! And he will take from thee thy strength, And plundered shall be thy palaces.

12 Thus saith Jehovah,— As when a shepherd snatches from the mouth of a lion Two legs and the extreme part of the ear, So shall be rescued the children of Israel, Who dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, And in Damascus on a couch.

13 Hear ye and testify to the house of Israel, Saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts,—

14 That in the day in which I shall visit upon him the sins of Israel, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; And broken shall be the horns of the altar, And they shall fall to the ground;

15 And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house, And perish shall the houses of ivory, And come to an end shall the great houses, saith Jehovah.

Chapter 4

1 Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan, Which are on the mountain of Samaria, Which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, Which say to their masters, “Bring, and we shall drink.”

2 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by his sanctuary, That, lo, in the days are coming on you, That he will take you away by a hook, And your residue by a fishing-hook;

3 And through the breaches shall ye go out, Each one over against her; And ye shall cast yourselves down from the palace, saith Jehovah.

4 Go ye to Bethel and transgress, And in Gilgal transgress still more, And bring, in the morning, your sacrifices, In the third year, your tithes,

5 And burn incense with the leaven of thanks-offering. And publish voluntary offerings, proclaim them; For so it hath pleased you, O children of Israel, Saith the Lord Jehovah.

6 But I even gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And want of bread in all your borders; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah:

7 I also withheld from you the rain, When as yet there were three months to the harvest; And I rained on one city, And on another city I made it not to rain; One part was rained upon, And the part where it rained not dried up;

8 And there came two and three cities to one city, To drink water, and were not satisfied; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah:

9 I smote you with the east wind and mildew; Your large gardens and your vineyards, (236) And your fig-trees and your olives the chafer devoured; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah:

10 I sent on to you the plague after the manner of Egypt; I smote with the sword your strong men, And led captive your horses; I made to ascend the stench of your camps even to your nostrils; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah:

11 I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye were as a brand snatched from the burning; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.

12 Therefore thus will I do to thee, Israel, And because I will do this to thee, Prepare thyself to meet thy God, Israel.

13 For, behold he who formed the mountains, Who created the spirit, Who declares to man what is his thought, Who makes the dawn and the darkness, Who walks on the high places of the earth,— Jehovah, God of Hosts, is his name.

Chapter 5

1 Hear ye this word which I raise upon you, Even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

2 Fallen is the virgin of Israel, and she will rise no more; Left is she on her land, none is there to raise her up.

3 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah,— The city from which went forth a thousand, There will remain in it a hundred; And that from which it went forth a hundred, There will remain ten to the house of Israel. <div sID="gen85748" type="